'A London Child of the 1870s' by Molly Hughes

April 2024 - 'A London Child of the 1870s' by Molly Hughes

In April we read this evocative memoir, a look back at a Victorian childhood published in 1934. It raised lots of questions about nostalgia and memory, and how as adults we remember our childhoods.

The book is a piece of social history, of a middle-class family with money worries living in a large house in Canonbury. Hughes gives us an idyllic portrait of a secure childhood in which she is adored by her creative, spontaneous family. Yet beneath the narrative are simmering anxieties, and as one reader noted, nostalgia can be a false friend.

Hughes’s account appears artless, but is highly crafted, based around a series of incidents, many of which occur to her brothers rather than her. In London she lives vicariously through their activities, as she is expected to stay at home (telling us something about the perceived vulnerability of girls in this period). The exception to this is on holiday in Cornwall where she experiences freedom and friendship.

London is central to Molly’s childhood, and it forms some memorable parts of her narrative – a rare trip out on the top of an omnibus (without mother knowing of course), walking to St Paul’s Cathedral and attending services, and exploring local Islington.

Collections at The London Archives

We looked at the rich topographical material we hold relating to Islington in this period that you can explore using the London Picture Archive. We also looked at papers relating to the property where Hughes grew up, which was part of the Northampton Estate and these records are held at The London Archives.